Richmond Steel clearing out; movie cinema in the works
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch comes news that Richmond Steel will be vacating their North Boulevard site at the end of July, and plans are moving forward to convert the Art Deco building into a 16-screen cinema and shopping complex:
Richmond Steel Inc. is vacating its steel-assembly building, built in 1907 at North Boulevard and Leigh Street, and moving into new quarters in Chester by July 23.The move will clear the way for Bow Tie Partners, a New York development firm, to convert the Richmond Steel building into Movieland at Boulevard Square.
Bow Tie Partners said Boulevard Square will open next year and feature a 16-screen, stadium-style cinema and 53,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and entertainment space available for lease.
Does anybody know anything about Bow Tie Parters’ previous development track record? I’d welcome a movie theater in the neighborhood, but what assurances do we have that Richmond isn’t going to end up with another Sixth Street Marketplace?
Tim -
I wrote a bit about them back in October on Buttermilk & Molasses. I poked around for news about the firm — they run a large handful (115) of screens along the East Coast and seem to have a good track record, but I don’t know much else about them.
I had the pleasure of meeting the owners of Movieland at a commerical real estate meeting about 3 months ago. More can be learned about them at http://www.bowtiepartners.com/
I specifically asked about the quality of their development and parking and believe this will be a first class complex. They only go into city areas doing a lot of renovations and the goal is to be a part of turning around areas with much promise.